Rated 1 star out of 5 due to the simple fact that I had to get the police involved to get my dog and our possessions back (over $100+ worth of items, including a new 28-lb bag of American Journey dog food); a process which spanned several hours, and resulted in me not getting some of my belongings back (negligible; I ultimately care only for the safety of my dog). What began as a pleasant (although somewhat frazzled) 4-night stay with Billy (Friday AM to Tuesday AM) turned into something out of my worst nightmare come the day of pickup (or, rather, the day before when he was his most unresponsive). I have a feeling that this is one of those situations where when the quality of care is good, it's GOOD... but when it's bad, it's really, really BAD. Billy was quick to communicate in the beginning of my dog's stay, but I noticed as time went on, he became more and more unresponsive and increasingly less communicative. I didn't want to sound any alarm bells, knowing he still had my dog, so I practiced patience and empathy. Come of the day of my traveling back home (Monday), I reached out to Billy before I boarded my flight that morning. No answer. Waited patiently, all the way up until later that night (around 9 PM). Sent another text. No answer. FINALLY, because I could no longer ignore the panic welling up inside me, I called him around 9:55 and he sent me straight to voicemail. I received a text a few minutes later with an apology for "forgetting" (???????) to circle back around to me, and further stating we were a greenlight for pickup in the morning at 10 AM. Fine. He asked me to send him a list of everything that was sent with my dog, to which I responded (important for later). I go to bed, exhausted from traveling and a little emotional overall due to the unresponsiveness all day. Come Tuesday morning is where it all begins to fall apart even more. I overslept (awoke at 9:30ish) and texted Billy that I had done so, and would be there closer to 11 vs 10, like we discussed. I said this to give myself some wiggle room as far as time, with the understanding that I could pick my dog up at any time during the given 9 to 11 AM window. I fly out of bed to get ready to go because I could not ignore my intuition telling me to get to my dog right NOW. Texted Billy that I was en route at about 9:55 (I was about 20 minutes away), and he did not appreciate it at all because he'd apparently "accepted a virtual meeting with a colleague". I asked him why he'd done so, knowing that I was going to be on my way at any minute to pick up my dog, an inquiry he was even less appreciative of. I arrive at 10:15 and he texts me, saying he'll bring my dog and his things down in a few minutes (we were not allowed into the apartment, and you'll soon find out why). Come 10:30, after several minutes of standing out in the cold, we gain entry into the apartment building after buzzing a neighbor. 10:40 rolls around, I can hear MULTIPLE dogs in his unit barking, running, etc. I start knocking, with my cousin ready on standby to call the police. We hear Billy speaking to someone on the other side of the door, all while at least 3 dogs (including mine) crowd around the door. I call Rover's emergency hotline and it's at this point they suggest calling the police while they attempt to get in contact with Billy. 11:00 rolls around and he still hasn't answered, though at this point, he's shaking in his boots and yelling through the door about how HE'S going to call the police (he made no such call). I was livid, and he could hear it in my voice, but for the life of me, I just couldn't understand why I couldn't have my baby when he was RIGHT THERE. When the police arrived, their main priority was getting my dog back to me, though it took the officer sometime to convince Billy to relinquish him. Billy said to make sure he "doesn't take any longer than what [he's] already took", that he would just give me my dog (not even on his own leash) and I could come back for the rest of my possessions later that day with police escort. Ummmm... wasn't everything supposed to be packed up the night previous, when we discussed?? In the bag that I sent with my dog?? But, fine. We all decided on a "ballpark" time of 4 PM with police escort (which he would use later to justify sending me a paragraphs-long message after the fact, saying he would set my items outside on the NEXT DAY in a package, still claiming safety was an issue, regardless of police escort). At this point, I asked Rover to step in and PLEASE help with mediation because A) I had work myself the next day, and B) I didn't trust him at all to include everything in the "package" my dog was sent with. Again, I'm happy I followed my intuition in this regard, as Rover recommended still following through on the 4 PM police escort to retrieve the rest of my items, while they again attempted to reach out to Billy (no such luck). At the escort meeting, I sent responding officers to Billy's unit with a written list of everything (all sorts of chews, toys, blanket, and food that was needed for the week). It took them over an HOUR to convince him to relinquish my things, citing the law and theft. He cried and made a huge performance, but ultimately, both they and he knew he was in the wrong. He allowed them into his apartment to discover that he was hosting AT LEAST 4 other dogs (mine not included) in his 2-bedroom apartment. He was also still working virtually, so couldn't even give the emergent situation the attention it called for. Quoting the officers, he "seems like he has a lot going on" to which I responded, "respectfully, he shouldn't be boarding dogs then". I was fortunately able to receive most (not all) of the items I sent my dog with, sans a soiled Christmas blanket that sat in a garbage bag for I don't know how long (again, begging the question, if you knew I was coming, why on earth wouldn't you launder his blanket?). He tried making the excuse that my dog pooped and peed a lot during his stay (well, yeah.. it was his first stay away from home + mom; something I thought Billy would be equipped to handle, but I was wrong). He continuously sent the officers out with items that weren't ours, including 3-4 other leashes (all different colors, despite me clearly marking it as a green leash), until I'd finally retrieved the bulk of my possessions and was satisfied with that alone. The entire second stretch of the process in getting my possessions back spanned about 2 hours total. Please heed the negative reviews on Billy's profile, and save yourself tons of panic and grief. There is another experience very similar to mine in the reviews; I have a feeling Billy has a collection of dog toys, chews, etc. that he uses for dogs he's boarding as well as his own. This is the first and last time my dog will be left with someone who isn't family. This experience has taught me to plan ahead more efficiently; it has also shown me that dog boarding in someone's home is not for me. I will be going brick and mortar from here on out, and I am also making it my mission to ensure Billy never boards another dog in this city again.

Billy was so kind, responsive, and great with our pup. We would highly recommend him!